Ogun PDP crisis: Court to decide Kashamu, Adebutu’s fate on Tuesday

The court of appeal sitting in Ibadan, Oyo state, has reserved judgement in the case between two factions battling for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidacy in Ogun state, till Tuesday.

In the suit filed by the Ladi Adebutu faction of the party and heard on Monday, the group asked the appeal court to set aside the orders of the federal high court, Abeokuta, which ruled in favour of the Kashamu faction.

On October 2, the federal high court in Abeokuta had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept and process the list of candidates and delegates submitted to it by the faction of Kashamu.

The commission had written Uche Secondus, national chairman of the PDP, that it was only going to accept list of candidates from Kashamu group.

Secondus had handed over the party’s governorship ticket to Adebutu but the Kashamu faction also unveiled the senator as their candidate.

At the court on Monday, Emeka Etiaba, counsel to Adebutu, demanded that the case be assigned to another judge at the federal high court.

But Alex Izinyon, counsel to Buruji, vehemently opposed the granting of the prayers sought by the appellants.

Etiaba said a party in perpetual violation of positive and subsisting orders of court cannot justifiably seek favour from the same court it had treated with contempt.

He contended that the appellants had the opportunity to state their case at the federal high court, Abeokuta, after they were served and chose to stay away from the court on October 2.

After two hours of deliberations, the three-man panel of justices of the court of appeal presided by Olukayode Bada adjourned the case till Tuesday.